The Most Spectacular Meteor Shower of the Year Approaching

Hungary Today 2024.08.05.

Although the Perseids can be observed from July, the most spectacular part of the meteor shower arrives in August. The meteor shower will reach its peak next weekend, bringing up to 75 ‘shooting stars’ per hour to the sky, Live Science writes.

According to the Svábhegy Observatory’s website, the peak in Hungary will occur on August 12, Monday at 4:00 p.m. local time. Although there is some uncertainty in the weather forecast, it is worth staying up for several nights: dawn on August 11, 12 or 13 is the best time to observe the phenomenon. This will be helped by the fact that the crescent moon will set around 10:54 p.m. local time, thus darker skies are expected afterwards.

In a sufficiently dark place, it is worth looking out for meteors after dark, with up to 75-100 meteors per hour around the peak, but slightly fewer in Hungary due to the later darkening.

Photo: Wikipedia

Fact

The Perseids appear to come from the constellation Perseus, hence the name, but in fact they originate from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Lewis Swift, from New York State, made a visual discovery on 16 July 1862 with an 11 cm Fitz lens telescope, but did not immediately report it, believing he had spotted another comet discovered two weeks earlier. Three days later, Horace Tuttle observed the same comet from the Harvard Observatory. Its period was determined to be 120 years, and it was supposed to return in 1982, but it did not. After researchers revisited the data, they determined a period of 130 years.

Brian Marsden published the comet’s refined orbital elements and predicted its return in 1992. On September 26, 1992, the returning comet was spotted by Japanese amateur astronomer Churuhiko Kiuchi. Its next return is expected in 2126, and it is estimated that it could be visible to the naked eye. Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is the largest known comet to make a repeat pass by Earth.

Perseids appear in July each year, and after the peak has passed, they are seen at a decreasing frequency each night until around August 24.

‘Shooting stars’ can appear anywhere in the sky and do not require stargazing binoculars or backyard telescopes to observe them.

Observation from the International Space Station at Earth orbit. Photo: Wikipedia / Ron Garan, NASA

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Via Live Science, svabhegyicsillagvizsgalo.hu; Featured image: Pixabay